Revolut vs. N26

Both of these challenger banks are relatively new to the US, but N26 is temporarily closed to new applicants while it seeks a new partner bank. Which one you should choose depends on how you spend and manage your money.

Revolut vs. N26: Side-by-side comparison

Revolut offers a free account as well as two different premium accounts. At the time of writing N26 offers one account type. The following chart compares the N26 account against the free standard Revolut account.

	Revolut	N26
Monthly fees and charges	$0 Standard plan, $9.99 Premium plan, $16.99 Metal plan	$0
Domestic ATM charges	Free withdrawals up to $300/month for Standard plan, up to $600 for Premium Plan and up to $1,200 for Metal plan. Then 2% of the withdrawal amount	2 free withdrawals per month, then $2 per withdrawal
Foreign ATM charges	Free withdrawals up to $300/month for Standard plan, up to $600 for Premium Plan and up to $1,200 for Metal plan. Then 2% of the withdrawal amount	2% of the withdrawal amount
Send money to friends	Free to anyone with a Revolut account	Free to anyone with an N26 account
Transfer money internationally	Transfer to 29 currencies with a 0.5% fee for anything above $6,500 each month plus a flat markup on weekends and in certain currencies	N/A
Spending insights	Shows spending by category, merchant, country, and month	Offers insights into where you spend your money, along with monthly reports help understand your spending habits
Freeze your card	Yes: Touch of a button in app	Yes: Touch of a button in app
Interest	0.28% APY for Premium or Metal users with Savings vault and 0.15% APY for Standard users	None
Savings goals	Set budgets in the app and open savings vaults that let you store your money	Spaces feature lets you open subaccounts to stash your money away
Visualization	Spending graphs show which days you’ve spent most/least money	Monthly spending statistics shown in pie chart
Foreign exchange fees	0.5% for spending more than a certain unspecified amount each month, plus a flat markup on weekends and for some currencies	None

Revolut vs. N26: The verdict

Using the app

In terms of the actual app, there’s not much separating these two. Both Revolut and N26 offer stylish graphics and spending insights, categorizing your transactions and showing you how much you’ve spent in a category or at a particular shop. Budgeting with both apps is easy and structured. Both also offer the ability to create subaccounts to store money away for a particular savings goal. N26 has Spaces and Revolut has Vaults.

Using your card abroad

When compared with using your traditional bank card, both Revolut and N26 will save you more money abroad. Revolut is probably the better option out of the two, though.

• Card transaction fees. N26 doesn’t charge any foreign exchange fees, while Revolut charges 0.5% for spending more than a certain unspecified amount each month, plus a flat markup on weekends and for some currencies.
• Number of countries. With Revolut, you can take money out in 150 different countries. N26 doesn’t say in how many countries its card can be used.
• ATM withdrawals abroad. Revolut lets you withdraw $300 a month at foreign ATMs with the Standard Plan, $600 with the Premium Plan and up to $1,200 under the Metal plan, but charges a 2% fee after that. N26 charges 2% of the withdrawal amount.

Security

Since launching in the US, N26 has provided FDIC insurance through its partner bank, Axos Bank. However, that partnership is ending. N26 is currently closed to new applicants as it transitions to a new partnership with a different, currently unnamed FDIC-insured institution. We spoke with an N26 representative who confirmed that existing accounts will remain FDIC insured during the transition.

Revolut partners with FDIC-insured bank Metropolitan Commercial Bank to protect funds on its prepaid debit cards.

Video: Alex Weber, head of international markets, on why N26 is different

Compare with other digital banks

Bottom line

Both N26 and Revolut offer consumers a fully in-app way to control their finances. But they’re also very new: N26 launched in the US in July 2019, and as of August 2019 Revolut has not yet launched in the US.

If you’re considering switching banks, compare other checking accounts to N26 and Revolut before making a decision.